Mathis House, 1895 Victorian in Toms River, New Jersey



Beautiful house, but where is the kitchen? How about a couple of pictures from some the seven bathrooms? Even the bed and breakfast website, from which the pictures for this listing came, had not a single bathroom picture. Disappointed. And even though not specifically mentioned in the listing details below, there is another listing which does mention that this home can be used as a business or as a single family home. What a glorious single family home it would be.
 
LISTING DETAILS

The Inn at 600 Main is a Bed and Breakfast and Victorian Tea Room located in a desirable area between NY, Philadelphia and Atlantic City off the GS Parkway at exit 82A. This sophisticated inn offers 6 elegant suites with luxurious amenities and accommodations for over 50 guests for tea or special private parties. A twofold business opportunity offered as an operating Bed and Breakfast and Victorian Tea Room. Additionally, a separate 1600' carriage house offers potential income producing opportunities. A successful hospitality enterprise offers a peaceful setting, antique decor and the ambiance you will find only at 600 Main. Close proximity to Jersey Shore beaches, quaint shops & fabulous eateries! New ordinance allows for Breweries and Distilleries downtown Village section of TR. Restaurant a possibility with variance. Furniture negotiable. 

HISTORY via Bed and Breakfast Website

The house was constructed in 1898 for a local businessman, and was quickly recognized as an outstanding example of Colonial Revival architecture. However, because of its lavish oversized windows, grand porch and detailed ornamentation, it appears distinctively Victorian, and the flavor of that era has been maintained at the charming old house ever since.

Soon after its construction, the house was bought by the man who later loaned it its nickname, the Mathis House. Thomas A. Mathis, also known as Captain Tom for his many accomplishments on the seas, resided in the house through a political career that spanned some 50 years.

Mathis, born in 1869, resided in New Jersey for almost all of his life. But in his early years, following in his father’s footsteps, he sailed the world. He was a master seaman at 18 and served as second officer aboard J.P. Morgan’s yacht, “Corsair,” on its first round-the-world cruise in 1905. All his life he maintained yachts and ties with the seas. Because of that, Toms River was the perfect place for him to settle down.

Mathis and his wife, Helen S. Steelman, purchased the house with his brother-in-law, Maja Leon Berry and his sister-in-law, Edna Steelman, in 1912. During the two couples’ occupancy, the house was the scene of many elegant parties and dinners.
 
Mathis involved himself in the automobile business in Philadelphia and Toms River and in real estate in New Jersey, but his preoccupation – and occupation – became politics. By the time he bought 600 Main, he had already served the state and its residents in civic roles for a decade. He was appointed to the New Jersey Senate in 1909 and went on to be re-elected for a half-dozen more terms, rising to become Republican majority leader, then president of the Senate in 1929. In 1931 he was appointed Secretary of State of New Jersey, and served in that position until 1941. 

Through all that time, he was a kingpin of Republican Party politics in Ocean County.

Mathis died in 1958, but his name remains well known – not just because of the beautiful old house he left behind. The Thomas A. Mathis Bridge, part of Route 37, spans Barnegat Bay and connects Toms River with Pelican Island and Seaside Heights. Many a vacationer and sea lover has delighted as they traveled the bridge, over the gleaming bay waters, toward recreation, fun and seaside memories.

Mathis was skillful at sewing, crocheting and knitting – hobbies he came to enjoy after spending so many years alone at sea. The Ocean County Historical Society possesses one of the quilts he made at sea from materials garnered in foreign ports.

The old house has passed through various hands, until Sue and John Notte purchased it in 2012. By then the house was in need of some tender loving care, which the Nottes gave generously. Their dream was to turn it into a center of relaxation and hospitality – which is exactly what it has become.
 


FOR SALE  $1,150,000
600 Main St, Toms River, NJ 08753
7 beds  |  6 Full/2 Half baths  |  7918 sqft  ? acres

LINKS:
Listing Agent, Zillow, Realtor, Bed and Breakfast Website, BnB Facebook Page

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